To Love Another
by Birdy Chan
Summary: Gilbert Beilschmidt is a lazy free loader, plain and simple. His life is turned upside down when he somewhat impulsively decides to adopt a little girl who lost her mother because he never really thought about parenting or girls before. Can he get through this? Prussia x Child OC. Humans names used. Will try to make this amusing as possible. Based on a rp.
1. Chapter 1

Gilbert Beilschmidt thought it was too damn cold for a Sunday summer day. It was windy, too cool for shorts to be worn. But aside from that, there was not a cloud in the sky which allowed the sun to blanket Berlin. He was in a bit of a bad mood because Ludwig made him get out of his nice, warm bed to go grocery shopping because apparently Ludwig 'just doesn't have the time'. It was 4 in the afternoon, what did he mean by 'he didn't have the time'?!

'Ah, well, might as well make the most of it and get a lot of beer and good stuff.' He thought as he pulled out the list. Milk, bread, vegetables, bunch of other crap, and beer. His first stop was to get a coffee and Danish to get him through this gruelling trip. He parked his car at the far edge of the market and got out, making sure to lock it.

He went up to a local bakery run by 'Old Man' Sam, an elderly bald shop keeper that knew almost everyone that lived within the market district and remembered all the names of his frequent customers. He was a squat man, with round glasses, a bent back and a constant kind smile under his silver mustache. He was wearing his red apron today as he brought out some croissants.

"Yo! Sam!"

"Ah, guten tag, Gilbert." He smiled. "Large coffee and maple pecan Danish?"

"Ja! Kesesese!" Gilbert laughed as Gilbird landed on his shoulder. As he leaned on the counter, examining the cake case underneath him, he heard a pitter patter of quick footsteps behind him. A little girl with shoulder length brown hair in a red coat and that went to her knees hopped onto the barstool, pulling herself up. Gilbert watched her pull herself up and she was so small, he thought she wasn't older than three. But he admired her tenacity.

"Strawberry turnover please!" She said with a bright smile in English as she pulled out a 20 Euro bill.

"Ah, hello Robyn." Sam smiled. "Did your mutti give that to you?"

"Nope, lucky money." She knelt on the stool and slid the bill on the counter. Gilbert watched her and saw there was a little yellow duck on her breast pocket and thought it was cute. Sam went to the back without further questions.

Gilbert returned his attention back to the cakes until he heard a little 'Ah.' He turned his attention back to the little girl who looked flustered and kept on stuttering 'Gu…Gu…'

"Gutan tag!" She blurted out and held her hands nervously together as she was staring at Gilbert. Gilbert snorted at her poor German accent but the shy flustered expression she was making was too cute! He didn't want to ruin it by making her cry and he smiled back at her.

"Guten tag, frau~ Aren't you a little cutie?" He grinned and she visibly relaxed with her big brown eyes lighten up once again with joy. She smiled back at him with a little satisfied 'heh' from her mouth. She visibly relaxed and continued stuttering a supposed German word thinking she wanted to talk in German.

"Kn…kneet eyen Enter!" She stated proudly. Gilbert thought for a moment and turned away to pull himself together from laughing too loudly. She was trying to say she wasn't a duck.

"You are such a cute and zilly frau." Gilbert grinned again. "Keep practicing Deutsch, ja?"

"Ja!" She smiled and raised her hand in the air.

"Alright, coffee and Danish for Gilbert. And a turnover for Robyn." Sam came out and gave them both a paper bag.

"Danke, Sam." Gilbert said. "Also-"

"Danke!" Robyn blurted out again and slid off the stool with a little 'oof' as she landed on her feet. She started heading back to the busy sidewalk.

"Hold on a moment, Robyn. Where is your mama?" Sam leaned forward over the counter and called out to her. Gilbert was a little irritated that he was being ignored but even his ego acknowledged that little kids like that did come first. After all, they could have been stepped on easily.

Gilbert shared his Danish with Gilbird who happily munched on it on his shoulder while he was waiting for Sam to finish talking with her. He tuned out the conversation until Sam got his attention.

"Gilbert," Sam switched to German.

"Ja?" Gilbert looked up, thinking he was going to ask if he needed something else which he did.

"Can you do me a favour and make sure Robyn makes it home safely? Her mother not being around makes me uneasy and I have no one to cover for me."

"Okay, Ja, sure." Gilbert shrugged. He thought that whoever her mother is, she was more irresponsible than he could ever be if he let a little three year old wander the city alone. He scanned for her and spotted her at the stoplight. "Hey, frau! Robyn!" he ran up to her before the light turned green.

She turned around with half the turnover in her mouth, looking at him. "Hm?"

"I'll take you home, okay? Can you show me the way?" He towered over her and she didn't seem intimidated. She just looked at him with a blank curious stare and nodded. After she took a bite of her turnover, she started coughing a little bit but didn't seem to be choking.

Gilbert walked beside her across the street and she shyly pointed directions through the city with an occasional 'this way' followed by a cough. Gilbert scowled and thought that her mother was extremely irresponsible for letting a sick three year old wander.

He started to get bored of the silence and after three and a half blocks of wandering, he finally broke it.

"How old are you, frau?" he looked down at her.

"Ahm… Ah… Five." She held up her hand. Gilbert was honestly surprised. He didn't think that five year olds could be that small or could be that overdue for a growth spurt. But Ludwig was a tiny kid too and he was now taller than Gilbert.

"Oh. I see." He followed her to a brown worn down apartment complex. The neighbourhood itself looked shady and he would love to give her mother an 'I would make an awesomer parent than you' rant once she got home.

Robyn coughed again as she struggled to push open the door to the main building. Gilbert looked down and pushed on the handle gently and followed her inside to the second floor. The apartment smelt old mixed with cigarette smoke and seemed damp to him.

Robyn went to the door at the end of the hall and jumped up to the door handle to open it. Once she got in, she turned back to Gilbert with her big eyed stare and the door in both hands. Gilbert was expecting her to slam it shut as kids should do when they see strangers.

"Uhm… Ah… Would…" She coughed again and it sounded like it was getting worse with her starting to wheeze. "Would you like a drink?" She asked timidly. She looked back to where the closet was and she seemed to be disappointed by something. "Mama isn't home…" She sighed.

"Ah… No zhanks. But do you mind if I stay with you until your mutti gets home?" Her mother was definitely going to hear it from him.

"Okay." She waddled off to a room straight ahead as Gilbert stepped inside and shut the door behind him. He walked in and to his left was a sliding front closet and there was a three way split at the end of the hall. Straight ahead was a bedroom, the living room could be seen on the right and a bathroom was on the left.

The living room was very messy with laundry and books everywhere and a small tv stand in the far corner. The kitchen that was accessible by the living room was an absolute mess and there was garbage from fast food everywhere in it. There was a stained towel at the foot of the fridge and juice dripping from the counter.

The apartment's smell was a little better than the hall but it seemed very muggy and Gilbert noticed some brown stains on the ceiling. He heard pitter patter followed by a cough behind him. He turned around to see a stuffed tiger with a black eye barely being held by its string being held up.

"This is Jojo. He thinks you look funny. I told him you're nice." She coughed again.

"I… See." Gilbert forced a smile. "Frau… Where is your mutti? When did you last see her?"

"She's…" She coughed again and presses her hand on her chest. "Work." She tried talking again but her coughing turned into wheezing and got worse. He saw her start crying and immediately scooped her up, running outside for fresh air but her wheezing wouldn't stop.

"Sheisse… You need to go to the hospital." He ran as fast as he could back to his car and put her in the front seat. Her coughing and wheezing was getting louder and it was making him panic. He buckled her in the passenger seat of his two passenger Porsche and drove like a madman to the hospital.

"Kid, whatever you do, don't die on the awesome me!" He drove into the emergency parking lot and ran in with her and her stuffed tiger in his arms. "I need some help here! She can't breathe!"

Two nurses immediately attended to Robyn and put her on a respirator and rolled her away on a stretcher. Gilbert went to the front desk to give information to the triage nurse.

"All I know is her name is Robyn. I just walked her home and she started coughing and that's all I know." He sighed irritably.

"I know her." A Nigerian accent spoke up and a black woman with a bandana in her hair and green scrubs came to the desk. "Robyn Hertz. She and her mother live above us and I sometimes watch her." She turned to Gilbert and touched his arm. "Thank you for your help. We'll take her from here."

"Alright." Gilbert immediately felt relieved. She was in good hands and didn't have to worry about her. She was their problem now and walked off.

Once Gilbert got home, he was greeted by a very pissed off brother. He folded his arms and glared at him.

"You went to a bar, didn't you." He growled. Gilbert suddenly remembered that he forgot about the groceries.

"No, no, I didn't. There was this little girl, zee? She got zick and I took her to the hospital. I'm not pulling zhis out of my ass, West!"

Ludwig looked up and studied him carefully. "Fine. I'll bite. Is she alright?"

"A neighbour of hers is taking care of her so ja. Her mutti didn't show up though."

"You are an idiot." Ludwig sighed. "But she's in the hospital so she is in good hands. Are you listening? Tomorrow, you are going to zhe hospital and you are going to spend at least an hour wiz her and I want to see your visitor's pass. If not, no beer for a year and you get house chores non-stop until you find a job and your own house."

"VHAT?! Zhat is cruel and unawesome punishment!" Gilbert protested.

"Then get the pass and prove zhat vas zhe truth. I'll get Chinese." Ludwig stood up to feed his dogs and get the phone.

"You're zhe best, West!" Gilbert grinned. He didn't really think about her until he went to bed when his ranting mind would not shut up. He really wanted to chew out the mother for bad parenting and wanted to gloat that he pointed out another bad person in the world.

Another thought came into his head. What would happen to the little girl? Did she have any other family or friends? What if she was in that hospital by herself for a really long time?

'Bah.' His mind echoed. 'I survived most of my childhood alone and I turned out just fine! Heck, I even raised West pretty much since Vatti was always working.' He smirked and fell asleep with Gilbird nestling in his hair.

* * *

**I know I have other fanfictions I should put up... w ... -cough- Pirate Prussia Sequel and Request and other crap -cough- But this was too cute for me to do. **

**This fic is mostly going to be based on an old rp I did with theArtisticGenius on DA so she gets partial credit. **

**I own the picture and I'm hoping this will be submitted because I'm having issues getting my other story submission technique working.**

**I own Robyn Hertz (she's just my self insert OC and I like to play around with her personality/scenarios and this was one of my cuter rps)**

**I do not own Gilbert Beilschmidt or Hetalia.**


	2. Chapter 2

Gilbert's sleep was rudely interrupted by Blackie, Aster and Berlitz, who all had leashes in their mouths. With a barely cracked open eye, Gilbert groaned in his pillow.

"Weeeeest. Take care of your dogs. West?"

Gilbert lifted his head to see the time on his alarm clock. 8 AM. Ludwig would have been out training and off to work already. Working as a diplomat was apparently 'very demanding'.

Once Gilbert completely was awake, he got up and dressed in a flash. The dogs were pestering him and shoving into his legs.

"Alright, I'm going!" he yawned. "Coffee first." He got his travel mug and filled it with black coffee and added a good squeeze of maple syrup. He ordered the dogs to sit which they all did and fastened their leashes.

Once he was outside, he made a mental to do list for today. Walk the dogs for a while, go back and actually eat, do a little cleaning, play video games, and go check on the kid. Seemed like a promising day.

Gilbert walked the dogs for over an hour and the rest of the day practically flew by in a blink of an eye. He was working on his blog after cleaning the kitchen until four thirty then remembered the little girl. He honestly wasn't sure how he was going to do it. He spent very little time around girls and Elizaveta didn't even qualified for the slightest definition of a girl. Just thinking about it made him uncomfortable and anxious on how different she was going to be compared to raising Ludwig.

"This is a bit troublesome." He sighed as he cleaned himself up and got his car keys. "But West says he's gonna take away the beer otherwise." He flips the music on full blast in his car as he made his way to the hospital against the rush hour traffic.

Once he got there, he realized he didn't have the slightest idea on where to go. He hasn't been in the hospital since he was a little kid and doesn't even know where to start. He retraced his steps in the emergency ward and immediately found security. The entire nursing staff was different so he didn't know who to ask aside from security.

As Gilbert was waiting for the security to get his stuff together, part of him still wondered whether or not the mother showed up. It's generally not cool to abandon a kid for any reason. Gilbert just had to keep her happy and get her hopes up.

"Ah, found her. A-35, just down the hall to your right in the children's ward." The security guard handed him his visitor's badge which Gilbert accepted with a nod. His footsteps echoed along the whitewash walls that were hauntingly quiet.

He got to the ward and found a nurse on the verge of losing her mind. She was gripping her hair and pacing vapidly back and forth.

"I lost a kid, I lost a kid." She said as she was hyperventilating.

"You okay?" Gilbert asked as he came up to her and sort of checked her out.

"I lost… No, a kid escaped! She wandered off!" She looked like she was going to rip her blonde hair out of her bun.

Gilbert looked on the door and the sticky note said R. Hertz.

'I'm starting to wonder if it's the kid that's the problem.' Gilbert grimaced. "Just hang tight, I'll help look, I'm her visitor."

"Alright, thank you." The nurse started to calm down a bit.

"Also, just vondering," Gilbert stopped the nurse before she walked off. "Vhat is wrong with the little girl?"

"Robyn? She's being treated for an asthma attack and we're doing other tests as well." The nurse said as she walked off. "She needs to wear her respirator."

Gilbert continued walking down the hall, thinking hard. If he had the mind of a kid… Or Feliciano, which would be a better comparison although Feliciano was more intelligent, where would he go if he was stuck in a room all day with nothing to do? He came up with a few conclusions but his mind burst out 'food'.

"I'll check zhe cafeteria." He said to himself. As he was getting to the cafeteria, he heard a scraping on the floor and a little whine.

"Jojo! Why are you so heavy?" Sure enough, he found her struggling to push a chair with her stuffed tiger on it towards the empty snack bar. A light green hospital coat was worn over blue Tweety pyjamas and little pink socks. She was pushing it with her arms as her feet were slipping on the floor in one spot.

'Ja, the kid definitely is definitely hyper.' Gilbert thought. "Hey, fr-Robyn!" He walked over to her and she looked up at him. "What are you doing all the way over here, you should be in your room."

He scowled a bit looking down at her which made her fidget and looked down. She started stuttering as she talked.

"W-well… I-I wanted to look for mama. A-And Jojo got hungry." She pointed at her tiger. She stared at him with her big eyes, with him thinking she was scared or something. Gilbert knelt down and scooped her up with one arm which made her give an 'eep'. Before he stood up, he picked up her tiger too.

"I'll take you back to your room, you just vorry about getting better, ja? You don't vant to be coughing anymore, right?" He looked at her in her eyes and she nodded in response.

Gilbert carried her back to her room, noting how light she was and put her back on the bed. "You stay put, alright?"

"But mama… Mama is still out there. I want to see if she is ok!" She gave him a determined look which made Gilbert chuckle and pat her on the head, which she also seemed uncertain about.

"Kesese. Your mama will be here soon." He said. He noticed a white mask on her nightstand and knew that was her respirator. "Hey, you should put that back on."

"I don't like it." She said timidly, clasping her hands together and playing with her fingers. "It's cold and icky."

"Ok zhen. It's not like I can force you." Gilbert looked around for something to do. What was he supposed to say to a kid and spend the next hour with her? Anyone would be bored being stuck here, restrained to the bed. He found some crayons and sheets of paper on a table in the far corner. "Hey, let's play an awesome game~" He chimed.

"Hm?" Robyn watched him as he went to the table, grabbed the paper and crayons, and pulled a tray up to her bed.

"I'll draw somezhing and you guess what it is. Zhen you have a turn, alright? And ve take turns." Gilbert started to draw a stick figure on the sheet quickly. Robyn leaned over to get a better look and moved in his light.

"Back up a little, okay?" Gilbert gently nudged her shoulder which she obediently went back.

"Ahm… A dog?" She looked up at him and smiled.

"Ja! An awesome dog!"

"Bark bark!" Robyn turned around in a circle on her hands and knees.

"Easy zhere, you don't want to fall off the bed." Gilbert couldn't help but laugh. "Your turn."

They went back and forth for a decent amount of time although Gilbert thought Robyn cheated because she made things up that don't exist, like a Snufflufigus. Every time he made an animal, she would make that sound. His favourite one was her elephant impression.

Robyn pursed her lips, puffed her cheeks out and blew as hard as she could, making a bit of a trumpet sound. Her last turn, she drew a monkey.

"You do a monkey! … Please?" She looked up at him with her shy brown eyes and he couldn't find in him to say no, even if it was somewhat degrading but who would see it? He curled his arms and made an "Ee-ee-oo-oo-ah-ah." Sound which made her squeal in delight and fall back on her pillow.

"Alright you. I gotta hit the road." He stood up and smiled at her. This wasn't as bad as he thought.

"Will you be back tomorrow?" She sat up and looked at him. Gilbert wasn't planning on spending more time than he needed here but there was still no sign of her mother and no one else came looking for her.

"J-Ja." He said and looked down at her. "But you have to be good and listen to the grown ups, alright?"

Robyn nodded in response and started to cough again.

"Here… Let's get this on." Gilbert picked up her mask and when he turned back to her, a pinky was only centimeters away from his nose.

"Pinky promise?" She tilted her head. Gilbert hesitated but slowly raised his free hand and curled his pinky around hers.

"Ja. In fact, I'll come visit you until… You get better~" Gilbert was going to say until her mom came back but that might be a little mean.

"Yay!" She smiled and coughed again. She let Gilbert put the mask on her face and adjusted it once it was on her face.

"Get some sleep, frau." Gilbert waved as he left.

Gilbert kept his promise and visited her every day for a little over a week around the same time. Ludwig didn't get back until the evenings and didn't really ask too many questions on what Gilbert was doing but he didn't mind as long as Gilbert didn't blow money on excessive drinking or parties or whatnot.

Robyn had four episodes within six days and had to get an IV in her hand. On the sixth day, when she had to get the IV, Gilbert had to help the nurse pry her from under a bench when he came over. Once she saw the needle, she immediately dove under the bench and clung to dear life on the legs.

Neither Gilbert nor Robyn were happy campers once she got the needle in her hand. Gilbert was mentally complaining because she was squirming and fighting so much, not to mention coughing all over him, and it was generally annoying. Robyn got the most painful thing that could be considered torture and Gilbert was helping them so she didn't speak to him and pretended to be asleep, whimpering from the sting.

However, the next day, Gilbert was easily forgiven.

When Gilbert drove back home, he was singing loudly to a German rock song and almost got t-boned by a stupid driver. He grumbled his way back into the house, ready to crash in his bed.

"Welcome back, Gilbert!~" Feliciano was over today and it immediately drew a smile on Gilbert's face.

"Feli! Long-time no see~ How are you?"

"Bene~" The happy go lucky Italian clapped his hands together and smiled absently at Gilbert. "I'm making pasta and pizza~ Would you like some?"

"Ja! Anything you make is awesome Feli!" Gilbert grinned as he was greeted by Gilbird and the three dogs. "Down, dogs!" He petted them on their heads.

"Just don't make a mess in the kitchen." Ludwig looked up from his paperwork and sighed.

As Gilbert was heading to the washroom to get washed up, he heard the news on the television in the background. He caught '…Hertz was identified in the River Spree' and back tracked to the living room and rewound the report to the beginning.

His eyes widened as a picture of Amelia Hertz came up and realized that was Robyn's mother. When he asked the Nigerian nurse, or Maria as she told Gilbert, what her name was and what she looked like, she happily told him so he could keep an eye out. Robyn was getting a little more sadder every time when a nurse said she was not there yet.

"Vee? Gilbert, something wrong?" Feliciano came up from behind him. "You look paler than normal."

"No… It's… There's this little kid I've been visiting in the hospital. She asks me if her mother came yet every time. And now she's dead."

"How horrible!" Feliciano said. "Are you going to stay with her?"

"Ja… Until zhey can get zhings sorted out. It's the least I can do." Gilbert sighed. He never felt like this before and it was making him feel very uneasy. Then again, he never had to do anything like this before.

Gilbert went to bed with a couple of things on his mind. He didn't want to tell her and make her cry. He hated to admit it but Robyn has started to grow on him. He saw her as a little baby chick, eager to get out and explore but she was helpless and needed her mother.

The next day, when Gilbert went to the hospital, Maria pulled him aside before he went to Robyn's room.

"Listen, Gilbert, please don't say anything about her mother. I don't know if you know this but she was found in the river. We'll tell her later."

Gilbert nodded and turned to the door then back to Maria. "Does she have any other family?"

Maria shook her head. "Her father passed away three years ago and Amelia's parents are in Canada but they have severed their ties. I'm afraid she'll have to go in a group home."

"Gott…" Gilbert brushed his hand through his hair. "What… What if I took her? My home is clean and we have plenty of room."

"If you can get the papers, I won't say no." Maria gave a small smile. "Bless you." She said as she took his hand.

Gilbert realized that Ludwig was going to have a fit but what was he supposed to do? The kid hardly speaks German and she just got completely comfortable being around Gilbert, he could imagine that she would have a rough life ahead of her.

On the Brightside, she was a sweet kid. A little stupid, he thought, but she wasn't too loud and toilet trained. She couldn't be much harder to take care of than Gilbird, right? Although he had to teach her not to wander.

Gilbert gathered himself and went inside and was greeted by a hug to his leg.

"Gilbert!" Robyn smiled. She changed into pink pyjamas with the hospital's green housecoat draping over her. "Come see, come see!" She pushed her IV rack to a black chest that was placed at the foot of her bed. "Miss Maria brought this for me. It's full of costumes." She opened it with ease and there were clothes piled up to the rim.

Gilbert knew that girls liked to be pretty and liked to dress up. This was one of the thoughts that he loathed about and prayed that there was no makeup anywhere in there. However, he knew that he should probably give Robyn a little more slack. He pulled up a red stool and lowered it so he was the same height as Robyn.

She dug around for a bit and pulled out a black tri-corner hat that reminded him of Arthur and Antonio's pirate phase and the War of Austrian Succession. Robyn turned to him, went on her tippy toes to place the hat on top of his head.

"There~" She smiled brightly at him. "Now you're a pirate!"

Gilbert could not supress a sweet smile and patted her head. She gave him her usual confused look like she still wasn't used to it but it was understandable. He was still a stranger, sort of, and she hasn't really been pat on the head like that. She told him her mother always gave her hugs.

"If I'm a pirate, should you be a princess? Kesesese~"

"No." She said simply. "I wanna be Elizabeth Swan."

She was really starting to grow on him.

The next day was the day he had been dreading. He didn't hear Maria talking to Robyn until he walked in the room.

"Baby… Your mama's not coming." Robyn tilted her head and didn't say hi to Gilbert yet. "I… I don't understand."

Maria took a deep breath and sighed. She motioned Gilbert to have a seat in the chair which he did quietly. "God told her she had to go to Heaven."

Robyn was silent for a while, trying to understand what that meant. It only took a matter of minutes before her eyes started watering and she started to hiccup.

"Mama…" She sniffled. "I'm… I'm happy." That was something Gilbert was not expecting her say. He stood up and walked to her bedside beside her.

"How come?" Gilbert asked quietly as he sat down, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"M-Mama… Isn't alone." She cried, trying to bring a smile to her face. "She-she… She's with Papa in Heaven. She doesn't have to be sad."

She immediately burst into tears into her stuffed tiger. Gilbert automatically drew her into a hug, like he did with Ludwig when he cried as a child. He could not stand the sight of crying children and wanted her to stop.

"It's okay." He whispered. "Just let it out." He rubbed her back, trying to soothe her.

Maria touched her arm and got her to look up a bit. "Mr Gilbert has offered to take care of you. Would you like that?"

Gilbert froze and completely forgot to tell Ludwig about his two second thinking decision. He just went home and started filling out the paper work and trying to clean out the spare bedroom last night. Tonight, he had to tell him. Ludwig would have to agree to it, right?

Robyn lifted her head up and looked at Gilbert with red watery eyes and gave a nod before burying her head in his black hoodie and crying her eyes out.

Gilbert kept stroking her back and whispered comforting words to her to quiet her down. She cried for almost three hours before she fell asleep with her head on his chest and him holding her and rocking her.

"I promise, you'll be alright, Vögelchen." Gilbert said as he held her close. He didn't know how it was going to be done but he had to take care of this tiny trembling chick.

* * *

**Damn you late night priority list! ... Why couldn't this wait until morning? =~= Ah well, nothing too big due tomorrow.**

**Warning! Cute but sad chapter ahead!**

**This is still mostly based on an old rp with :icontheArtisticGenius:**

**Will get better and I'll add in a bit of a subplot with Feliciano and Ludwig later on w**

**I gave it a bit of thought and the Hetalia characters are nations but they prefer their human names.**

**No other comments for now so night~**


	3. Chapter 3

Cleaning the spare bedroom was apparently Gilbert's first priority when he came home. The papers were filled out and he wanted to make sure the social services said Robyn could stay. The rest of the house was spotless save for the bedrooms.  
"Gotta hurry, gotta hurry." Gilbert muttered as he was throwing stuff randomly out in the hall from the cleaning closet.  
Ludwig heard the racket he was making and stood up to go investigate. Gilbert usually wasn't too enthusiastic about cleaning unless he broke something or if Ludwig was in a really bad mood.  
"Bruder..." He walked up the spiral staircase to the second floor. "What are you-"  
"I did not adopt a kid! I mean... Hi West." He smiled nervously while hiding a vacuum behind him.  
"You did what?" Ludwig said calmly, cocking an eyebrow.  
"Uh... I did nozhing unawesome as to hide somet-"  
"Gilbert." Ludwig narrowed his eyes. "What. Did. You. Do."  
"Ok..." Gilbert took a deep breath. "The kid I was visiting, her mother just passed away, ja? She's got nobody else and... I said I'll take care of her."  
"You did WHAT?! Without even talking to me?!" Ludwig started ranting on how he should use his head and have common sense, big things like this needed his input as well, this was his house, Ludwig made the rules, blah blah blah. Gilbert was half listening, occasionally nodding his head but he picked up that kids are different from dogs or 'ze awesome Gilbird' and pointed out that Gilbert has not shown he could be capable of raising a child.  
"Oh, and you expect me to just throw her on zhe street and hope she becomes one of Kiku's cartoon characters?"  
Ludwig pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Sorry, zhat was a little harsh. But honestly, since you moved in with me, you haven't been able to or refuse to get back on your feet. And I don't know if you can handle this."  
"West. The awesome me can handle anyzhing! Kesesese~ But seriously, give me a chance. Besides, you always said 'You never know until you try.'"  
Ludwig nodded, knowing he had a point. "Very well then. But I have some conditions. Listen before you say anyzhing. First, you have to budget. I will still give you an allowance for both you and her to get basic needs. If you want more, you have to get a job.""Ok, fair enough." Gilbert nodded.  
"You are completely responsible for her health, education, discipline, and any other major needs. I will help where I am needed." Gilbert nodded again, his red eyes completely focused on him.  
"And..." Ludwig grimaced which made Gilbert assume whatever this condition was, was not going to be pleasant. "Beer is limited to one case a month. For both of us."  
"VHAT?! Oh come on, West! That is not awesome!"  
"That's where most of our extra money goes! And if you want more, you have to get a job! And besides, it is not a good habit to teach a child to get drunk." Ludwig folded his arms. "And I'll be giving it up too to help stick to the limit."

"Ok..." Gilbert slouched. 'This is going to be worth it, ja?' As if Gilbird read his thoughts, like the awesome little bird he is, he chirped in reassurance. This was going to be fun!  
Over the next several days, Gilbert filled out more paperwork, and some inspectors came over. Their home passed with flying colours and was the ideal environment for Robyn to live with and she wasn't affected by animals according to her tests. Gilbert was a little more excited everyday and was eager to prove that he could be a responsible person and a good guardian.  
On the day Robyn was supposed to arrive, something neither of the German brother expected happened.  
Ludwig woke up at six AM sharp and immediately saw a lump beside him and assumed that Feliciano crawled in with him in the middle of the night yet again. He could see the top of Feliciano's curl and pulled the covers down a bit and saw a child that looked exactly like Feliciano that made up maybe a quarter of his height.  
"Vhat ze hell?!" Ludwig fell out of the bed with a thud that woke up little Feliciano.  
"Ludwig? What's the matter?" He rubbed his eye as he was waking up.  
"Feli-! Y-you!"  
"What about me? Is it my hair? Do I stink? Am I horribly ugly? Please tell me I'm not ugly!"  
"N-no..."  
"How did you get so big, Ludwig?"  
Ludwig pulled out a mirror and showed Feliciano who gasped with his itty bitty curl going straight up in the air.  
"I've turned into a mia bambino!" He cried. "Arthur, I swear, whatever I did to you, I'm sorryyyyy!" He started crying.  
"H-Hey, Feliciano... Just calm down. I'm sure this was a major misunderstanding. At any rate, Arthur can fix it." Ludwig knelt to him and tried to calm him down. Feliciano cried on his arm and he put a reassuring hand on his tiny shoulder.  
"West, what's all the noise about?" Gilbert leaned on the doorway, rubbing the back of the neck. "Oh, by the way, Feli got in last night."  
"I'm aware." The German huffed. "There's been... An incident with Arthur's magic, I think."  
"Seriously?" Gilbert peeked over his shoulder and saw Feliciano who tilted his head up. "Kesesese! Why are you crying, Feli? You look so cute~" He grinned.  
"But I prefer to be an adult." He sighed. "And I don't have any clothes."  
"What about Elizaveta? She should have some." Ludwig got up to phone her. After a quick conversation, the phone rang again and it was a hysterical Lovino who apparently was also turned into a child.  
"A fucking gypsy CURSED me! It's all her fault!" He screeched over the phone. Ludwig pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Could today possibly get any worse? He really was not in the mood for this and prayed a certain Spanish acquaintance would help Lovino.  
After making coffee and breakfast for everyone, he noticed Gilbert pacing back and forth nervously in the front hall. The dogs were watching him with their heads moving in synchronization.  
"Bruder, if you have this much energy to burn, then why don't you do some training?" Ludwig asked as he was putting away dishes.  
"But Robyn could be coming any time!" Gilbert bit his thumb.  
Oh right. After all this commotion, Ludwig forgot she was coming. He really hoped that she wasn't too loud. If she made a mess, Gilbert would have to help her clean up.  
Ludwig suddenly got an idea since his mind was on the topic of kids. He had some of his old clothes in the attic that Gilbert insisted that he keep hat would suit Feliciano. He went upstairs to get them and got a white shirt and black overalls.  
"Feli, try these on for size." He gave them to Feliciano after smoothing them out, otherwise in perfect condition.  
"Grazie!" Feliciano beamed at him as he trotted off with his oversized shirt trailing behind him.  
The sound of the doorbell made everyone jump, Gilbert being the first to open the door with a huge grin. A short bald man looked up at him with squinty eyes and an older woman two heads taller than her partner adjusted her glasses. "Mr Beilschmidt?"  
"Ja, zhat would be the awesome me. Gilbert Beilschmidt." He shook both of their hands. The woman turned behind her to the lower step.  
"Come along now." She said to Robyn who was curled up in a ball with her red hood up. She sat up and turned to them with half opened eyes and a tired look.  
"Kesese~ Hallo frau, you sleepy?" Gilbert bent over resting his hand on his knees. Robyn's eyes snapped open and she had a smile on as she walked up to him and hugged his leg.  
"Gilbert!" Her hood slid down in the hug and the short man brought her bags inside.  
"C'mon in, we don't want you sick again." Gilbert pat her back and led her inside after she let go. The dogs greeted her with a few barks which made her hide behind Gilbert's legs as if she would disappear. They were silenced by a sharp command by Ludwig who stepped forward to greet the two people with a firm handshake each.  
"Ludwig Beilschmidt, Gilbert's younger brother. Thank you for coming." He really didn't have much else to say. The man reached up and handed him a card. "Vhat is zhis?"  
"If you have any issues or questions, give us a call." He said as he left with the woman.  
"You can throw zhat out West. We won't be needing that." Gilbert said he turned his head down to a pair of big brown eyes that were staring back at him, unsure of what do. "It's ok, frau, you can say hi. This is my little brother Ludwig."  
Robyn tilted her head up to Ludwig and started shaking because she thought he was scary. She let out an 'eep' and took a step toward the wall, hanging onto Gilbert's pant leg, staring at him as Ludwig knelt down to her and held out a large hand.  
"How do you do?" He waited a moment then she took his hand and murmured the same thing. She started to mumble something and took a deep breath.  
"Guten tag." She said a little louder, with her eyes focused on him, still scared.  
"Ah, do you speak German?" He asked in German to which his reply was a small head shake with an air pinch meaning a little bit.  
"She's shy but very lively once she likes you." Gilbert pet her head. "And it's ok, he may seem like a big scary guy but he's a big softie."  
"Gilbert!" Ludwig turned a bit red. He didn't particularly like being called soft despite that he was.  
"What? It's true." Gilbert shrugged. "And these are Aster, Blackie and Berlitz. They're all really friendly although a bit wild."  
Robyn poked her head around Gilbert's legs and looked at the dogs who were all lying down, staring at her. They looked at her with curious glances, one of them let out a playful growl but was silenced by Ludwig.  
"Ludwig, they fit!" Feliciano chimed as he bounded down the stairs with a smile as he turned around. The clothes fit him perfectly although the shirt was a little baggy. "Although I feel like I need a hat to co-ordinate." He said.  
Gilbert noticed that Feliciano immediately caught Robyn's attention and he could see her head perking up like a curious animal. This could be good, considering Feliciano was a kid as well.  
"No, it doesn't need a hat. They're German clothes, not Swiss." Ludwig sighed. "I need to go to work. I can trust you all not to destroy zhe house, ja?"  
"Don't worry, West, I got this!" Ludwig gave him an uncertain nod before leaving. He turned to the kids with a huge grin. "Alright, you two get to spend the day with the awesome me! We can do whatever we want!" He fist pump in the air.  
"Huh? Two?"  
"um... Ah... H-Hi." Robyn stepped forward letting go of Gilbert to greet Feliciano. She had her hands close to her body and a small smile on her face.  
"Ciao bella! You must be Robyn!" Feliciano went up to her and kissed both of her cheeks which made her go red and put her hands on where he kissed her. "My name is Feliciano but you can call me Feli."  
"Okay." She slipped off her coat and Gilbert took it from her.  
"How about you two go play outside and I'll go put your stuff in your room, okay?" Gilbert picked up the duffle bag and the backpack.  
"Si! C'mon bella!" Feliciano took her hand and ran outside with her with the dogs following them.  
Gilbert smiled and shook his head slightly. Feliciano was so adorable and thought he was just what Robyn needed to be more at ease. Although despite that, Gilbert thought there had to be a way to get around her shyness. It might've been natural for kids to do that but if that was the case, he had to lend her some of his awesomeness to deal with people. No adopted kid of his would be scared about facing the world.  
He went upstairs to put away Robyn's things away, with her clothes in the drawers, Jojo on her pillow, and her The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh on the bookshelf in the corner from her tiny navy blue backpack. From what Gilbert saw in that apartment, he knew she did not have very much and she was happy with that. Once he double checked the duffle bag to make sure that no clothes or medicine were forgotten, he found a palm sized three page booklet and opened it out of curiosity.  
There were only two pictures that occupied out of the six slots. Once was of a young woman in her early twenties with long dark blonde hair and brown eyes in a blue sundress, sitting on a swing and smiling at the camera. The other was Robyn, who was a few years younger, in the woman's arms with an older man with black hair and green eyes. He looked like he was playfully teasing them with made Robyn giggle and the woman gave an annoyed smile.  
It made Gilbert think. He knew that he would never be able to replace them but what would he be to Robyn? Right now he didn't really think much of her besides a clingy friend that can't take care of herself and is depending on him. Likewise, she probably sees him as a giant scary friend. She was his almost-but-not-quite-equivalent of Feliciano. Furthermore, he wasn't even close ready to be called a Father. He doesn't even know what that meant. They have fun together and that was about it for their relationship and also he had to teach her a few things.  
After doing some cleaning, he checked on the newly acquainted pair outside. They were making piles of leaves and running through them before setting them up again. Before long, the dogs joined in as well in their game.  
"Feli! Robyn! Come inside and eat!" He called out. Feliciano and Robyn gave a synchronized "Aww" before brushing the leaves off. It started raining as they were eating so they had to play inside. Feliciano decided to play hide and seek which Robyn and Gilbert happily agreed to.  
Ludwig came home in the evening when it was Gilbert's turn to find them. He saw Ludwig and gave a smirk. "West, I lost the kids. I-"  
"You lost zhem already?!" Ludwig went pale and looked absolutely mortified. Gilbert raised his hand defensively and tried to calm him down.  
"No, no, it's only hide and seek, just play along West." He laughed and mused out loud. "I wonder where they could be."  
"Er... Ja. I think we may have to phone zhe police." Ludwig said stoically, which made Feliciano giggle. Gilbert crept to his hiding spot which was under the coffee table and scooped him up.  
"Gotcha!" Gilbert grinned as Feliciano laughed. "Found a fun Feli~ Now we're just missing a Vögelchen." Gilbert looked under the table, in a blanket basket, in the closet and under the computer desk.  
Ludwig grabbed a novel from a bookshelf and sat down on the couch. When he leaned back on the cushion pile and began to wiggle which startled him. He leaned forward and sure enough, Robyn popped up, gasping for air and her hair standing up from static electricity. "Found her." Ludwig pointed down.  
"Ludwig, you're not supposed to tell!" Feliciano said which gave him a confused look from Ludwig. He continued to observe them and read his book until all three of them were tired. Feliciano passed out which made Ludwig pick him up and put him in his bedroom. However, chances were that Feliciano would yet again pop in his bed in the middle of the night.  
"Alright you, bedtime." Gilbert told Robyn. "Can you get ready for bed by yourself?"  
Robyn hesitated and looked down, playing with the hem of her pink dress. "Uhm. Yes, I can."  
"Good girl. Alrighty, Zhis way." He led Robyn up the spiral staircase to the second room on the left. She stepped in and looked around quietly, with her curious content expression unchanging. The double sized bed in the corner adjacent to the door already had Jojo and had orange and gold blankets with black pillows. The window above the side of the bed had its blinds down already. There was some free space between the foot of the bed and the dresser on the adjacent wall. To the left in the third corner was a bookshelf and a closet with white doors. "You like it, right? Argh, I knew it, you don't like it. I should have painted it pink or something." Gilbert gripped his hair.  
Robyn went up to him and tugged on his pant leg to snap him out of it. "I like it. It's big, thank you." She smiled and hugged his leg which made Gilbert sigh in relief.  
"Alright, there are your pyjamas."  
"Jammies. They are jammies." She said as-a-matter-of-factly way.  
"Right, jammies... So you get dressed and I'll get you settled in." He gave Robyn a two piece purple pyjamas with a t-shirt and pants and stepped out so she could change. When he came back, she already climbed on the bed.  
"It's so big! And so soft!" Her eyes widened with delight and began rolling on it. Gilbert let out a small smile. She was easily amused by the simplest of things and relatively low maintenance as far as he could tell.  
"Alright, medicine time." Gilbert grabbed an orange inhaler and stuck it in a tube like chamber with a mask piece on the end. "Remember, in the mouth, out the nose." Robyn nodded and put the other end on her face and did as Gilbert instructed as he gave her medicine.  
Once that was done, he lifted the covers so she could crawl in and put the inhaler on the dresser. She hugged Jojo close as Gilbert wrapped her in the blankets.  
"Snug as a bug~" He smiled. "Anything else you need?" He kind of enjoyed doing this things as a big brother, he thought it was fun if he did it once in a while. However, he was worried she would want something like counting sheep or a snuggle until she fell asleep every night. He secretly didn't mind the thought but it was awkward with her at least.  
Robyn stared at the bookshelf wall for a bit before turning back to Gilbert with her calm stare. Gilbert's instincts told him that she did want something and he was just waiting to hear what it is.  
"Ahm... No thank you." She snuggled with her tiger. "Night."  
"Gute Nacht." He smiled and pet her head. "I'm just in the next room if you need anyzhing." He turned off the light and left the door halfway open before going to his room.  
Much to Gilbert's surprise, she didn't make any noise or bother him in the night. Or the following nights. Instead, she was fairly clingy to him during the day time. She followed him everywhere and helped him with the chores Ludwig gave him. He had to admit, it was cute and he pictured her like a baby chick but he wanted his personal space.  
When Gilbert was out getting groceries one day, he was caught up in traffic and talking to a friend of his. He got a call from Ludwig a couple of hours later.  
"Hallo, you remembered somezhing I need to get? Or better yet, I'm allowed to get beer?" Gilbert asked hopefully.  
"Nein, everyzhing is on the list. I'm just wondering where you are. Someone already misses you." He could hear Ludwig sigh a bit.  
"I'm stuck in traffic. Tell that someone I'll be there in half an hour." Gilbert smiled and sighed a bit in annoyance. "Has she been pestering you?"  
"Nein, she's quiet as usual. She's just sitting on the bench in the front hall staring at the door and Feliciano couldn't distract her so he took a siesta."  
"Ah. I'll be back soon." He said as he hung up, taking a detour to avoid the traffic. Once he got home, he took all the grocery bags in one trip. Before he could turn around to go back to the hall, Robyn was already in the kitchen doorway, staring at him.  
"Ah, you startled me, frau. Is something wrong?"  
Robyn fidgeted with her hands and looked down before looking up at him again with that same look of wanting something but not having the courage to say it.  
"Ahm. Can I help?" She asked.  
Gilbert smiled sadly and shook his head as he knelt down and stretched out his arms. "You probably want one, right?"  
Robyn nodded and slowly went up to him and hugged him around his waist. She felt his strong arms wrap around her and have a hand on the back of her head.  
"What's the matter Robyn? Is something bothering you?" Robyn pressed her mouth against his shoulder and started talking quieter than usual but Gilbert could hear her.  
"I have bad dreams. You don't come back and I'm alone. Ju-just like..." She started quivering and sniffled. "Mama." No, no,no. Not the waterworks. Gilbert did what was natural to him. He didn't want her to cry again.  
He took half a step back and tilted her head to look at him. "Listen to me, Robyn. I won't leave you. Not while you still need someone to take care of you. Besides, the awesome me would never do something unawesome like that, understand?" Robyn nodded. Gilbert raised his hand and stuck out his pinky. "Pinky promise." She smiled and wrapped her pinky around his with a smile.  
Gilbert grinned back at her and stood up. "Wanna know what my friend I was talking to taught me today?"  
"What?" She tilted her head. Gilbert started making funny faces by stretching his face and positioning his hands on his cheeks. All of them made Robyn giggle and laugh with her hands cupping her face to hide them.  
Feliciano and Ludwig were watching them from the living room, Feliciano very impressed and even Ludwig had a trace of a smile at his brother's silliness. He had forgotten how much Gilbert did to make him smile when he was younger. "I think he's a natural."

* * *

Sorry guys, I know it is messy but will fix this chapter format and get comments in tomorrow!


End file.
